Grenade



June 19, 1945. c. F. sHAFFl-:R

GRENADE Filed May l0. 1941 Patented June 19, 1945 2,378,735 GRENADECleve F. Shaffer, San Francisco, Calif., assigner of thirty per cent toMartin C. Mogensen,

Martinez, thirty per cent to Herbert W. Erskine, Piedmont, five per centto Herman J. Fanger,

Oakland, and five p hagen, Oakland, Cali gr cent to Henry Gruen-Appiieatiqn May 10, 1941, serial No. 392,878' (c1. 1oz-e4) 3 Claims.This invention relates'to grenades of the type used in militaryoperations and particularly to grenades adapted for use either by themanual throwing thereof or the firing or shooting thereof by explosiveforce from an instrument of armament such as a mortar or gun. As is wellknown a grenade is a form of'explosive bomb, relatively small in'size ascompared with long range shells, which latter are employed in largecalibre armament. l The grenade is especially adapted for short rangedistances and is of great value in military operations where Vopposingforces A.are in close proximity. The use at'presentmade of the handgrenade is the manual throwing thereof by troops. The hand grenadeduring the World War of 1917-1918 was generally elliptical inlongitudinal section, approximately live inches longand two and one-halfinches transbination of parts hereinafter described, illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, and pointed i out in the claims hereto appended,it being unversely and was manually thrown inthe manner of a ball andexplodedby a timek fuse. In later years the explosive or bomb portion ofthe grenade has been attached to one end of a handle member to securegreater leverage in the throwing and for its better guidance in flight.The grenade being heavy and the handle being relatively light and long,the handleserves as a guiding shaft in flightin the same manner vas theshaft of an arrow. f I

The present invention has as an objectA the providing of a grenade whichhas all of the ad-y vantages of the manually thrown, handle-mountedgrenade and the additional -advantage that itmay be explosivelypropelled for longer ranges or distances by armament such asA a mortarwhich is relatively light in weight and easily transportable by one man,small mechanized mobile equipment, by animal pack, or by marching 0rparachute troops. Another Objectis to provide a grenade adapter wherebythe grenade may be employed either as a hand grenade for throwing or inbarrelled armament. A further object is to providean explosive grenadeprojectile adapted for either manual or explosive propulsion which islight in weight, safe to han'- dle until ready for use, can be set up,aimed, loaded and fired by one man when used in a mortar, and quicklyand easily adapted for either of the aforesaid purposes of use; afurther object;k is to provide a grenade having the foregoingadvantages, which is economical in manufacture and efficient in itsoperation.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, all of which will be moreapparent as this description proceeds, the invention is exemplifiedinone form inthe novel construction and comderstood that various changesin the form, proportion, size and details of construction of theapparatus may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claimswithout departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantagesof the invention.

To more clearly comprehend the invention, reference is directed to theaccompanying drawing wherein like reference characters indicatecorresponding parts.

Fig. 1 is a broken, longitudinal transverse sec- ,tion of the grenade ofthe invention.

Fig. 2 is a lateral, transverse section on line II-II of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective of a belt hook member.

Fig. 41s a perspective of plummet member.

Fig. 5 isa longitudinal 1section broken away, showing avslightmodification of attaching adapter to a handle member and selectivereplacement Iof belt hook member by an explosive shell.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of a suitable mortar device.f

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary enlarged detail in 1ongitudinal Vertical sectionmechanism. t V

Fig. 8 is a plan view of mortar ground plate.

AReferring to Fig. 1, the grenade is provided with a bomb head generallyindicated i5 which is a recognized and well-known type comprising ahollow shell bodydIB of any suitable shape, but shown herein as havingsubstantially the shape of an inverted conical frustum in axial section,the side Walls of which are circumferential relative to the axis and arescored or grooved circumferentially as at Il and longitudinally as at I8providing weakened lines to facilitate the breaking `of the bomb headinto many s mall portions upon the explosion thereof. Within the hollowof the shell I6 is mounted I9 and the remainder of the rhollow body isfilled with an explosive 20. The detonator is exploded by either Aof twohereinafter described methods, depending on the manner in which thegrenade is used.

- A pointed percussion pin 2l is slidably mounted through the shell bodyatthe forward end of the grenade, and has a disc plate 22 mountedadjacent its free end, the purpose of which is to provide an impactsurface in case the grenade #strikes in soft or muddy ground. A safetylock, here represented as a Cotter pin 23, is mounted through Vaprotuberant lug 24 of the grenade of mortar breech a detonator body andhaving a ring through the eye thereof to facilitate its `removal whenthe grenade is to-be used by propelling it by a mortar or when itsfiring by impact is desired in hand throwing. This pin 23 may also beremoved when the grenade is manually thrown. A shear pin 26 ofrelatively small diameter is inserted through the lug 24 and thepercussion pin 2|, the shear pin 2E being for the purpose of holding thepercussion pin 2| out of accidental contact with the detonator afterremoval of cotter pin 23, and to hold percussion pin against the Setback forces or inertia when the grenade is propelled by explosive forceof mortar firing. The landing impact of the propelled grenade drives thepercussion pin against the detonator to explode the latter.

The second method of explodingthe grenade bomb is particularly for itsuse in the manual throwing thereof, and consists of a friction fusemember 21 which extends through an opening 28 of a block portion 23 atthe apex end of the inverted conical frustum. One end: of the frictionfuse 2.1 is attached to the detonator and the opposite end mounts afriction block 30 which upon being pulled from thelend of the fuseignites the fuse,k the fuse being timed for approximately three to fivelseconds, in order to permit the grenade to be thrown after the frictionfuse is ignited at its free en d. The friction` block 30 has a cord 3|attached thereto, the latter extending through an elongated tube handlemember 32, which is threadedly connected at one end to the-bomb body asat 33; v

At its opposite end the handle 32 is reduced in diameter as at 34 tomount a mortar adapter, generally indicated 36 which may bel connectedto the handle end by any suitable means, ysuch as threads 35 in Fig. lor rivets 35?b in Fig. 5. The mortar adapter 3B is a in, form,preferably an extruded shape of light metal, having relativelycircumferentially spaced longitudinal axially disposed ns 31 whichextend radially outwardly from the adapter body sufficiently so that theradially outward edge 31a of the ns lie in the plane of a circle ofsubstantially the same diameter as the outer diameter of the handle 32,as best shown in Fig. 2. The fins 3.1 serve several purposes. Theyprovide a handgripY means by Y ally thrown; they also. serve toreinforce the tubular body of the adapter against the explosive force;they also serve to enlarge the tubular body of the adapter 36 so thatits outer diameter is uniform with the handle 32 when the grenade isinserted in a mortar barrel; they also provide space longitudinallybetween them for the expansion of explosive gases when theV mortar isiired, the explosive gases reacting against mortar breech and metalsealing gasket 54, hereinafter referred to; likewise, the fins serve asa guiding Ymeans to stabilize the grenade inflight in the same manner asfeathers or vanes at the end of an arrow.

The tubularv body 38. of adapter 36 slidably mounts therein a hollowelongated plummet 39 having an outer diameter to fit snugly, but readilyslidably, within the tubular, body 38. The upper end of the plummet 39is closed by a disc 33a of relatively thick body material upon which ismounted an eyelet 40 to which one Vend of the string 3| is securelyattached, the string 3| hav,- ing a surplus of material within itslength asindicated 4|. The depending side walls 319b of the plummet arepreferably relatively thin ,and are tubular body elongated y which thegrenade may be manuprovided with openings or fenestrations 53. Theplummet 39 is normally maintained within the tubular body of the adapterby the tubular retroverted end 41 of a belt hook 48, to be furtherdescribed, the latter having a holding means such as cotter pin 42mounted through oppositely disposed holes or openings 43 in tubular body38, and openings 49 in the tubular portion of belt hook 41.

The tubular adapter body 38 slidably mounts therein a tubular portion 41of a belt hook 48 by which the grenade may be carried on the belt of atrooper or hung on a wire in a type of military tran; the spring-metalbelt-engaging clip portion 41.*?4 beingretroverted upon andsubstantially parallel to the tubular portion 41, and having anelongated resilient tongue 4,1b which bears against the exterior ofhandle 32 to prevent the grenade from becoming inadvertently detachedfromrthe belt and also serves to shield the garment of a. trooper fromchang against the edges of fins 31. It'will be noted that the tubularportion 4.1 of the belt hook 48 has openings 49 therethrough, throughwhich,'(as well as through openings 43 of the adapter body), there isengaged by the cotter pin 42 to hold the tubular portion of the belthook within the tubular body of the adapter. It is preferred that thepin 42 shall be sprung slightly when mounted in openings 43 so that itsbar presses the tubular portion of the belt vhook and the plummettogether upwardly and into contact with a relatively soft washer 45which has a hole 46 centrally therein to receive the eyelet 40 of theplummet, and thus seal the hollow handle member 32 and the friction fuse21 against entry of moisture or the pressure of explosion when fired ina mortar. The belt hook is removable from the tubular body 38 uponpulling the ring 44 to remove the pin 42 from its. engagement. `intherespective openings 43, and 49 .of the adapter body and belt hookmember.

When the. trooper desires to. manually throw the grenade he immediatelypulls out the cutter safety pn42 by means of ring'44, at which time heis supposed to be holding the grenade in a somewhat vertical positionwith` its explosive bomb head upwardly. 'The removalof the cotter pin 42will cause the tubular part 41 of belt hook 48 to drop out' of thetubular body 38 of the adapter, whereupon the plummet 39 will alsoloosely slide out'of the open end Ell of the tubular adapter body byreason of its weight. and the surplus cord 4|, whereupon the plummet maybe forcibly jerked by hand, thus acting upon the friction block 3|)l to.Aignite the friction fuse 21, after winch the trooper must immediatelythrow the grenade as it will explode. in from three to ve seconds due,to the timing oI- `the friction fuse 21. If, however, the grenade is tobe. used in a mortar of suitable. type. the Cotter pin 42 and likewisethe safety lock 23` are'removed while holding the head of the grenadedownwardly. The belt hook` may then be removed` while the plummet 39remains in,v the. adapter body. A shell 5|, which may be of thepaper-bodied, shotgun type, is then inserted into. the open end 5|) oithe adapter body as shown in Fig.. 5, the parts being so arranged, andthe shell being of such diameter and length that, upon removal of pin42the open end ro the shell touches or approximately touches upon thelower end of plummet 39', with vthe shell having a sufficient degree ofsnugly slidable frictional resistance in the tubular body 3.6 so thatthe -plummet and shell will not drop out when the grenade handle andadapter are dropped, (adapterend first), into the openbarl and propelthe grenade forwardly by expanding betweenthe breech lblock ofthei'mortar and a soft metallic skirt, gasket or packing gland 54 whichis interposed between the connected end of the adapter body 38 and theshoulder 55 of the handle portion. The purpose of the s'oft metal gasketlor washer 54 is that it may be spread by the explosive force to make aseal against the inner' wall of the mortar barrel. Normally, the gasket54 is deformed from a plane to a somewhat convexe-concave shape so thatit will lie Within the outer diameter of the perimeter of the handle 32and the ns 31, yet', when explosive force from the shell is exerted uponthe gasket it will be deformed radially outwardly so 'as toafford 'aseal against the mortar barrel to prevent passage or escape of theexpansion of the explosive gases when the grenade is used in a mortar.In this connection, it may properly be added that the side Walls 39h ofthe plummet 39 are made relatively thin compared to top wall 39%, notonly to save weightfbut also in order that they will riot be thickerthan the wall 50a of paper shell 58; thus the plummet side wall will notoverlie the explosive charge' of the explosive shell and the explosiveforce will be against the thick upper wall 39a. The fenestrations 53permit the explosive gases to pass therethrough and thus through theopenings 43 in that portion oi the ibody 38 which parallelly overliesthe side wall of the plummet.

The invention herein is not limited to a particular type of mortar indetail, but a satisfactory type of mortar is illustrated in Figs. 6 and'1 in diminished scale as compared with Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, andwhich will be briefly described.

Figs. 6 and 7 disclose a suitable type of mortar having an elongatedbarrel 6l reinforced at its breech end by an external sleeve 62 andhaving a. breech block 63 which mounts on the outside thereof .a triggermember 64. The breech block is buttressed on a breech support or bastionblock y65` which has hinged mounted on pintles or pins 66, the latterbeing mounted through longitudinally spaced lugs 61 on a ground-plate68. The ground-plate 88 has an opening at its center 69 which receives aspade peg 18 for insertion in the ground. The base plate 69 may be asingle integral plate, or may be divided into two semi-circularsections, each of which pivot on similar pins 66 at opposite sides ofthe barrel so that the two semi-circular sections may 'be foldedupwardly to lie close to the breech portion of the barrel, reducing thetransverse width of the base structure and affording protection to themechanism atthe breech when the mortar is not in use. The bastion block65 also mounts a spirit level member 12.

A gas escape tube 13 is mounted parallel with the barrel 6I and extendsfrom the breech block 63 preferably to the forward open end of thebarrel. This gas escape tube 13 has at the breech endian opening 14controlled lby. an'adjustable vent valve 15 which controls the exhaustof explosive gases from'a breech tube 16 which extends through thebreech block and communicates with the explosion chamber l11 of themortar. Within -the breechY block the ring pinla'is suitably mounted insupporting blocks and is actuated forwardly |by a trigger spring 80. Thevtrigger 64 is xedly mounted upon a rotatable trigger shaft 8| whichmounts within the chamber of the breech, a deformed circular cam 82having one fiat side, the cam 82 riding .upon a collar 83 which is xedto the firing pin 5Ia. Itis obvious that upon rotation of the trigger64, and thereby the cam 82,'the circular'side of the camv will press thecollar' 83 and ring pin 5la rearwardly until the :dat side of th'e camdisengages the collar 83 at which time the trigger pin will snap forwardunder tension of spring 80. v

In normal operation, the firing pin 5I` would remain at its forwardposition havingthe firing point thereof extending into theexplosionchamber 11 as indicated by dotted lines Sib, in which position themortar would be adapted to so-called drop firing wherein the grenade,having a shell 5| mounted in the tubularadapter 36 (as shown in Fig. 5),is merely dropped against the firing pin being thereby discharged.However, in case of failure to fire the shell, the trigger mayl be thenemployed, which eliminates the hazard of removing a grenade until allpossibilities of failfure of the shell to explode have been exhausted.Sometimes it may bedesirable, especially when the mortar is red at avery low angle of inclination to the ground to employ thetriggermechanismf. exclusively since the angle of slippage of `thegrenade might not furnish sufficient impact of shell and firing pin tosatisfactorily permit drop firing. f

The range of the mortar may be regulated not only by the elevation ofits open muzzle end, but also by regulating the gas Valve 15 which, whenclosed, caused all the force of the explosive shell to be exerted intothe barrel of the mortar, but which when opened in varying degreespermits a portion of the explosive gases to escape through lthe tubes 16and through the escape tube 13.

A range-indicating pointer and a calibrated disc collectively indicated85 are provided to indicate the extent to which the valve member 15should be opened or closed to accomplish a given distance of ight forthe grenade, by regulating the amount of explosive gases which arepermitted to pass out through the tube 13.

Mechanical supporting means may be provided to elevate and maintain theforward or muzzle end of the barrel, and is here disclosed as a foldingbipod'generally indicated 88, having forked legs 89 pivotally mounted asat 90 to a longitudinally adjustable encircling band 9| about the muzzleend of the mortar. This bipod has a suitable traversing mechanism sothat the barrel of the mortar may be adjusted laterally, the traversingmechanism being operated by manually turning a crank member 92. 'Sincethe bipod supporting mechanism may be of any suitable type, it is notdescribed herein in all of its details, but merely to illustrate thefoldability of l"the legs 89 against the mortar barrel as shown in Fig.6, locking means generally indicated 93 being -employed for locking thebarrel with relation to the bipod at various positions. Each leg of thebipod may have a slidable foot 94 at its base which is adjustable forlength by a clamping screw 95.

Having thus described my invention, I claim: il. A combination 'grenatefor fselective manual throwing 'and mortar firing, comprising 1an'expl'oe sive `bomb head, means for exploding Lthe bomb, fa.

tubular handle .member 'connected 'at one 'of fits ing means forsupporting the plum'm'et member 'in the adapter body, the mounting 'orsaid blummet member Asai-d adapter being 'sumciently removed from thefree end thereo so that 'an explosive propelling shell in'ay beselectively insorted in said tube rearwardly of the :plummet I2. -Acombination grenade nur 'selective manual throwing and mortar firing,comprising an explosive bomb head, means V.for exploding the bomb, 'a

tubular handle member Aconnected at Vone of :its .L

rends 'to lthe bomb, and having a shouldered ibase, a yseparate tubular'adapter member connected to the base end o'f the handle, and 'aradially Yeirpandible gasket between `'said base land adapter,

said adapter member 'having removably and slidably mounted therein in'spaced relation to the .free end of the adapter 'a manually manipulableplummet member provided with a 'connecting means through the handle toan exploding means vof the bomb head, and a belt hook ymember removablymounted 'on the `adapter 'and having a @body `porion extending vinto thetubular body -of the fadapter for supporting the plummet "therein,I'arxdmeans Ifor releasably securing said -belt hook member in itssupporting posit-ion, the mounting of 'said plummet -xnember in saidadapter being sulciently removedffrom `the :tree `end thereof lso thatan explosive propelling shell-may be selec'- -tively inserted in saidtube rearwardly of the plummet when the belt hook 'member is 1removed.

.-3. .A e'ombi-na-tion grenade for selective manual throwing and `mortarfiring, vcomprising an explosive bombvhead, means for exploding thebomb, a 'tubular handle member connected at one of its Pends to the bomband having a -sho'uldered base, a separate tubular adapter memberconnectedto the base endfof the handle, said adapter having its tubularbody of lesser -jouiter `diameter than the 'handle and having axiallylongitudinal elongated ns circumferentially spaced therearound, and:hav-ing perforations through its body -a-rea ybettween the fns, laradially expandible'gasketmember betweensaidshouldered -baseand theadapter., said tubular adapter member having removably and slidablymounted therein in spaced relation to the free end of the adapter, amanuallynranip- .ulable lplummet member provided with a con- :neet/ingmea-ns through the handle to an exploding mea-ns for the vbomb head, areleasable locking means ,for normally supporting the plummet in thetubular body, the plum-met member being mounted in the tubular adaptersufficiently removed from lthe lfree end thereof so that an explosivepropelling shell may Vbe selectively inserted in said ltubular .portionrearwardly of the `plummet.

GLEvEfF.

